IUCN status: Vulnerable
EPBC Predator Threat Rating: Very high
IUCN claim: “Recent research has demonstrated marked detrimental impact of introduced predators: Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral Domestic Cats (Felis catus)”
Cats hunt rats (Pavey et al. 2008; Pavey et al. 2014). Read & Cunningham (2010) described an occasion where more plains rats were captured inside than outside a fenced reserve where carnivores were excluded (no data or analysis was provided). Rats were last confirmed at Koonchera Dune, SA, 46-66 years after cats arrived (Current submission).
Rats were last confirmed in NSW 45-5 years before cats arrived (Current submission).
There are no studies evidencing a negative association between cats
and plains rats that report data. In one region the extirpation record
pre-dates the cat arrival record.
Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).
Current submission (2023) Scant evidence that introduced predators cause extinctions.
EPBC. (2015) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Environment, Government of Australia. (Table A1).
IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023
Pavey, C.R., Cole, J.R., McDonald, P.J. and Nano, C.E., 2014. Population dynamics and spatial ecology of a declining desert rodent, Pseudomys australis: the importance of refuges for persistence. Journal of Mammalogy, 95(3), pp.615-625.
Pavey, C.R., Eldridge, S.R. and Heywood, M., 2008. Population dynamics and prey selection of native and introduced predators during a rodent outbreak in arid Australia. Journal of Mammalogy, 89(3), pp.674-683.
Read, J.L. and Cunningham, R., 2010. Relative impacts of cattle grazing and feral animals on an Australian arid zone reptile and small mammal assemblage. Austral Ecology, 35(3), pp.314-324.